Electrical connector-switch mechanism



Sept. 28, 1965 R. FREATHY ETAL 3,209,091

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR-SWITCH MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9, 1962 INVE TORS Ba! 2 fffecz y "1/ fioeri l. Wan Q21 2 1M130 j W 9M I dizfys United States Patent 3 209 091 ELECTRICAL CoNNECToRsWITCH MECHANISM Ralph E. Freathy, Stevensville, and Robert L. Van Antwerp, Benton Harbor, Mich, assignors to V-M Corporation, Benton Harbor, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Feb. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 172,141

1 Claim. (Cl. 200-51) The present invention relates to a combination electrical connector and switch device which is compactly mounted in a single housing member.

More specifically, the invention relates to a connecting block which has incorporated therein a pair of switch contact members and a slide button so as to form an on-oif switch with the slide button being movable so as to selectively engage one or both of the contacts.

The connector-switch mechanism 'of this invention is suited to a number of varied applications, as will be recognized more fully from the description hereinafter, but such mechanism is particularly well adapted for use in photographs where heretofore it has been common to provide an electrical connector and an 'on-off switch as separate components, thus necessitating additional wiring therebetween.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention is to provide a compact on-off switch which is incorporated directly into the housing of a connecting block so as to eliminate the need for wiring between the connector and the switch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a connector-switch device which is particularly efiicient and durable in its operation, and which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other advantages and uses of the invention will be apparent, or become so, as we describe the invention in greater detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view showing mounted on a base plate or the like a lower connecting block which in accordance with the invention has an on-off switch incorporated therein, and further showing a complementary connecting block of known form operatively plugged into the upper end of the lower block;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, a mounting lug being partly broken away;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the device of FIGURE 1 with the upper connecting block removed, the slide button being shown in section to more fully illustrate the interior thereof; and

FIGURE 4 is a wiring diagram illustrating the manner in which the connector-switch combination may be incorporated in the circuit of a phonograph to control the operation thereof.

Referring now to FIGURES 13, there is shown a connector block 18 comprising a housing 20 having at its lower end an integral mounting lug 21 which extends forwardly from its front wall, and a pair of dogs or books 22 which project rearwardly from the rear housing wall. The housing 20 is secured to a base plate 23 by positioning it so that the dogs 22 project through an aperture 24 in the plate and engage under the edge of the latter, the lug 21 then being affixed to the base plate by a rivet 25 or other suitable fastening means such as a self-tapping screw.

The interior 'of the housing 20 is substantially hollow at its upper end as indicated at 28, and at its lower end as indicated at 30, the upper and lower interior portions of the housing being separated by a divider wall 31 which is provided with four laterally spaced apertures 32 (one of which is seen in FIGURE 1). A plurality of clip members 33 (in this instance four such members 33a, 33b, 33c and 33d being shown) are positioned in the housing 20 so that their contact portions 34 extend upwardly through respective apertures 32, the clips being held in position by dogs 35 and 36 which are adapted to seat against the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, of the divider wall 31. The lower ends 37 of the clip members are adapted to be clamped about respective lead wires, one such lead being shown at 38 in FIGURE 1.

The lower housing interior 30 is divided into four compartments by means of three parallel vertical walls 48 (shown best in FIGURE 2) which separate the lower portions of the clips 33 from one another. It should be understood that the structure of the housing 20 insofar as described hereinabove, and the clip members'33, are known in the art, and the present invention resides in incorporating therewith a novel on-off switch mechanism to be described hereinafter.

In accordance with the invention, we form a generally rectangular recess 42 (shown best in FIGURE 3) in a front face 43 of the housing 20. The base of the recess 42 comprises a substantially flat surface 45 which is provided with a first pair of vertically spaced slots 46 and 47 in alignment with the clip 33b of FIGURE 2, and a second pair of vertically spaced slots 48 and 49 in alignment with the clip 330.

FIGURE 3 shows a pair of U-shaped contacts 52 and 53 which are adapted to be mounted in the recess 42. Thus, the contact 52 is assembled by positioning it with its legs 54 projecting through the respective slots 46 and 47, after which the legs are bent upwardly as shown in FIGURE 1 so as to bear against the interior wall of the housing 20. The contact 53 having leg portions 55 is similarly mounted with respect to the slots 48 and 49. It will be understood that the clips 33 are inserted in the housing 20 after mounting of the contacts 52 and 53, and that in assembled position the legs 54 of contact 52 will engage the clip 33b, whereas the legs 55 of contact 53 will engage the clip 330.

A slide button 60 having an integral knob 62 project-' ing from its front face, is provided with a generally rectangular recess 63 in its rear portion. The recess 63 terminates at a wall 64 which is provided with a small diameter hole 66 extending partially into the interior of the knob portion 62. A slide 70 comprises a thin rectangular strip of conductive material which is bent at its opposite ends to form short leg portions 71 and 72. The slide 70 is positioned in the recess 63 with the legs 71 and '72 disposed toward the wall 64 so as to limit the extent to which the slide may be urged into the recess before being seated therein. A compression spring 74 is mounted in the hole 66 whereby one end of the spring is seated at the base of the hole and the other end engages the slide 70 so as to yieldingly urge the latter outwardly of the recess 63.

A retainer 75 is provided to maintain the slide button 60 and slide 70 in proper position within the rectangular recess 42 in the housing 20, and to guide the button while permitting the latter to be moved laterally to selectively bring the slide 70 into engagement with one of the contacts 52 and 53, or both of said contacts, as desired. A rectangular aperture 77 (shown best in FIGURE 3) is formed in the front face of the retainer 75 so as to permit the button knob 62 to project therethrough, the aperture 77 being of a height only slightly greater than the knob so as to be adapted to guide the same, and being of a width suificient to permit the desired sliding movement of the knob.

The retainer 75 is further provided with a pair of apertures 78 and 79 to accommodate a corresponding pair of a locating bosses 80 and 81 on the housing face 43. In the assembly of the retainer 75, the ends 76 thereof are bent around the sides of the housing 20, and preferably are further bent around a portion of the rear of said housing (as shown in FIGURE 2), whereby the retainer is firmly mounted on the housing and the slide button 60 and slide 70 are held in proper position.

It will be understood that the generally rectangular recess 63 in the slide button 60 is sufficiently large in its vertical dimension that it can slide over the face of the wall without interfering with the contacts 52 and 53, the latter being adapted to project outwardly from the wall 45. In other words, the rear face of the slide button may in effect comprise horizontal and vertical rail portions which slide along the wall 45. If desired, the vertical rail members may be relieved to avoid interference with the contacts 52 and 53 during sliding of the button, in which case the button 60 may slide on vertically spaced horizontal rails such as shown at 83 and 84 in FIG- URE 1.

In operation, the slide is yieldingly urged toward the contacts 52 and 53 by the compression spring 74. When the slide button 60 is moved to its extreme right hand position, the conductive slide 70 will contact both of the contacts 52 and 53 and thereby electrically connect the corresponding clips 33b and 330 and the respective wires held thereby. When the button is moved to its extreme left hand position, the slide 70 will engage only the contact 52, and the electrical connection between the clips 33b and 330 will be broken.

FIGURE 1 illustrates an upper connecting block 85 comprising a housing 86 and four clip members 87 (one of which is shown), each of the clips 87 having an upper end portion adapted to be clamped about a respective lead wire such as indicated at 99. The upper connecting block housing 85 has a reduced lower end portion 90 adapted to be received within the upper end of the housing 20, whereby the clips 87 will make electrical contact with the corresponding clips 33 in the lower connector block 18. The connecting block 85 is of known construction and does not form a part of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the manner in which the present invention may be utilized in a phonograph to eliminate the usual wiring between a connector and an on-off switch. Lead wires 92, 93 and 94 are secured to the lower ends of the clips 33a, 33c and 33d, respectively, the clip 33b being empty in this illustration. The wire 92 is grounded at 95, and the leads 93 and 94 are connected to the terminals of a phonograph motor 96.

Lead wires 98, 99, and 101 are secured to the upper ends of corresponding clips 87 in the upper connecting block 85. The lead 98 is grounded at 103, and the leads 99 and 101 are connected to a standard volt power source as indicated at 105.

An amplifier 106 is connected to a speaker 107 by leads 108, and the lead wires 100 and 101 are connected to the amplifier terminals to provide power therefor, a lead 110 being provided between the amplifier and the lead 101.

It will be understood that when the slide button knob 62 is moved to its right hand position as indicated in solid lines, the clips 33b and 330 will be electrically connected in the manner previously described so as to complete a motor circuit comprising leads 99, 93, 94 and 101, and also to complete an amplifier circuit comprising leads 99, 100, 110 and 101. When the knob 62 is moved to its left hand position as indicated in dotted lines, the clips 33b and 33c will be disconnected, thereby disconnecting the motor and the amplifier from the power source 105.

While we have illustrated our invention in a preferred form, we do not intend to be limited to that form, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since modifications coming within the scope of our invention will be readily suggested to others with our disclosure before them.

We claim:

A connector-switch device comprising, in combination, a housing, a plurality of clip members mounted in said housing, said clip members having contact portions and having means for securing thereto respective lead wiles, a plurality of switch contacts mounted in a recess formed externally in one outer wall of the housing, each of said switch contacts being in electrical contact with a corresponding one of said clip members, a slide button slidable in said recess transversely of said slip members, a conductive slide carried by said slide button in such a manner as to contact a predetermined number of said switch contacts depending upon the selected transverse position of said slide button, and a retainer strap bent around the major portion of said housing to maintain said button and conductive slide in proper position in alignment with said switch contacts, said retainer having a slot transverse to said clip members through which a portion of said button projects to permit the selective positioning thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,801,611 4/31 Norviel 200l6 2,108,708 2/38 Foster 20051 2,277,326 3/42 Huss ZOO-51 2,550,145 4/51 Geci 200l66 2,813,938 11/57 Speizman 20042 2,891,103 6/59 Swengel 339217 2,927,185 3/60 Bonnaire 20051 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. 

